Tamannaah, who has worked in innumerable films down South, says that South is not obsessed with fairness.

Be it Tamannaah or Shriya Saran or Amyra Dastur, all the three beauties have one thing in common - their connect with both Bollywood and South films. Having worked with both the mediums, there could have been no better people to speak on North-South Divide at India Today South Conclave 2017. And to give a better perspective on South cinema, Malayalam actor Manju Warrier joined the trio to give an insight into working in South films.

Amyra: Amyra Dastur, who has worked in Bollywood films like Mr X and Issaq, has also a handful of South films to boast about. And the 23-year-old actor feels that there is no North-South divide. She said, "A lot of us are from Mumbai. We do a lot of work down South. In fact, the divide is actually disintegrating with time. And in near future, there won't be this divide anymore.

Manju: We are living in a time and age where everything is going global. It is a director's prerogative to cast whoever he wants to. I have never ever experienced being sidelined, maybe, because I am a South Indian.

Shriya: India is one country and it is Indian cinema. I deny that there is any North-South divide.

On South's obsession with fairness and beauty

Tamannaah: I don't think that there is any obsession with fairness down South. In fact, I had to tan myself for two films. One of them is Baahubali and it turned out to be a big grosser at the box office. Unfortunately, our country is obsessed about fair skin. But, I think that Indian colour is beautiful. More than anything, I encourage women to be the way they are. Accepting yourself is where the beauty begins.

Manju: In Malayalam cinema, the creators or the directors have always believed in celebrating the inner beauty of the character.

On meaty roles in Bollywood

Shriya: Hindi films have a much larger appeal and in fact, a lot of women go to watch the films. And that's the reason filmmakers experiment with stories and scripts. However, when it comes to Tamil films, they will be seen only in Tamil Nadu. And this leads to less experimentation on the part of the filmmakers.

Tamannaah: I beg to differ. South films are getting dubbed in Hindi and have a universal appeal. The dubbed masala films cater to a large audience. I think South and Bollywood films give equal opportunity.